Stories

Beginning in 2008, I began submitting stories to magazines in order to build my resume before searching for an agent. Below is a list of stories I’ve published so far and where you can find them.

A piece of fan fiction I wrote some years ago. Since it's difficult to publish these things elsewhere, I decided to just post it here.


Warded

A demon sent to earth confronts an unusual obstacle on his way to cause mischief. "Warded" appeared in the June 2008 issue of Twisted Dreams. You can buy a paperback copy for $8.17 or a PDF copy for $1.90.


The Horse Thieves

Crawford is a free agent in the new West, where cars have replaced horses and any punk with a set of wheels can cause mischief. Now someone is stealing ponies from a local ranch, and Crawford has been hired to solve the case. "The Horse Thieves" -- the first in a series -- originally appeared in Space Westerns, a free online webzine.


The Ice Fields of Europa

An ice miner on Jupiter's moon, Europa, recounts his struggle to become a prospector through a series of diary entries. This dark sci-fi tale appeared as December 2008's featured story of the month in The Tiny Globule, a free online repository of sci-fi, fantasy and strange fiction.


The Zumundo Cog: Available in The Willows (out of print) or Penny Dread Tales Vol. 1

When a rare component breaks in his amazing steam scooter, Shane must confront a reclusive and eccentric inventor for a replacement. "The Zumundo Cog" was originally published in the November-December 2008  issue of The Willows, America's premiere steampunk magazine.

In May 2011, "The Zumundo Cog" was rereleased in Penny Dread Tales Volume 1: Gears, Coils, Aether & Steam  from RuneWright.


Birdhouse of the Seven Chambers

Kung-fu sparrows; secret battle techniques; bad dialog. The birds of the realm will battle for the Golden Seed hidden within the "Birdhouse of the Seven Chambers." This piece of flash fiction appeared in the March 2009 issue of "News from the Pouch," the monthly newsletter of book publisher Swimming Kangaroo.


Ragnarok

Anyone who's familiar with Norse mythology knows that Loki was responsible for bringing about the end of the world. But was Loki such a bad guy? And were Odin and Balder really upright heroes? "Ragnarok" is a re-telling of several of the central Norse myths from the perspective of Loki and is set in modern-day Reykjavik. It was published by Read Short Fiction.com in January 2010.


'Swordsman Wanted'

War veteran Greg Murphy hasn't had a steady job since getting his knee blown out in Iraq. When he answers an ad from a New York bank seeking a professional swordsman, he discovers that the financial industry has more teeth than he ever imagined. Tangent  magazine calls "'Swordsman Wanted'" a "light-hearted read, and Scalisi carries it off with a quiet, assured professionalism."

"'Swordsman Wanted'" was published in Issue 19 of Neo-opsis, the award-winning Canadian sci-fi and fantasy magazine. [Note: The link above serves sales in both the United States and Canada. If you live in the U.S., make sure to purchase the correct issue.]


Crude

Gas prices are out of control, and the government has stepped in to regulate the sale of vehicles powered by gasoline. While at the Department of Vehicle Registry, Virginia Piper -- mother of four -- learns firsthand how far some radicals will go to prevent the country's dependency on foreign oil. This dystopian sci-fi tale was published by The Absent Willow Review on July 16, 2010.

Note: The Absent Willow review unfortunately closed its doors at the end of 2011. At the present time, "Crude" is out of print.

Peggy Hawthorne has lost her favorite argyle sock in the wash, but getting it back may be more than a simple matter of searching inside the laundry room. "The Registry of Lost Socks" beat out 3,000 other stories to appear in the short story anthology An Honest Lie Volume 2. Purchase your copy of the book today by clicking on the link above. The sale price is $16.55 plus shipping for a physical copy and $10.00 for an e-book copy.

While searching for his first house, Art finds that a haunted restaurant has come onto the market in his price range. Are his motivations for buying it mere curiosity or supernaturally motivated? "Carousel Gardens" was selected as the headlining story in the short story anthology Shadowplay, which was released by Post Mortem Press in February 2011.

In September 2011, Post Mortem Press re-released "Carousel Gardens" as part of the publisher's "best of" anthology. The story appears alongside other PMP press authors, as well as horror luminaries Jack Ketchum and F. Paul Wilson. It is available in paperback or Kindle edition.

Guidelines for Selecting a Dashboard Totem

Dashboard totems are essential accessories for any vehicle. So how does one find them? And which ones hold the most power? Read this humorous piece of flash fiction to find out. "Dashboard Totem" was published in the fiction anthology from Untied Shoelaces of the Mind and was released in September 2011.